(Photo credit: Victor Grigas, CC by-SA 3.0)
Both the Yankees and Red Sox come into this series in fine form. The Yankees have won 15 of their last 16 while Boston have taken six of their last eight.
The Red Sox head to the Bronx on the back of a strong Chris Sale win on Sunday as the lefty dominated Texas. A three-run Sandy Leon homer powered the offense to a 6-1 win, but star outfielder Mookie Betts left early after taking a throw off the right shoulder while running the bases.
As for New York, their winning streak was only extended thanks to some ninth inning magic. Down 4-3, Neil Walker doubled home Aaron Hicks to tie it up before Gleyber Torres hit a walk off three-run homer.
Drew Pomeranz (LHP) Vs. Luis Severino (RHP)
The Yankees play today with an extreme pitching advantage. Their ace Luis Severino has been in terrific form this season, compiling a 2.11 ERA over seven starts that includes a complete game shutout in his last outing against the Astros. His 10.0 K/9 and miniscule 0.85 WHIP are huge advantages over what the Red Sox are putting out on the mound tonight.
Pomeranz has been as awful as possible so far this year. In three starts he has a 6.14 ERA, has allowed three homers, and pitched just 14.2 innings. It isn't that he has had one bad outing to inflate his numbers though. In all three games he has allowed at least three runs, and has pitched into the sixth inning just once.
The Yankees advantage tonight is monumental, and may be too much for the Red Sox to overcome.
Projected lineups
Red Sox Lineup | Home Runs | Batting Average | On-Base Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
Betts, RF | 13 | .355 | .434 |
Ramirez, DH | 3 | .297 | .366 |
Martinez, LF | 8 | .349 | .396 |
Moreland, 1B | 5 | .347 | .407 |
Bogaerts, SS | 3 | .333 | .363 |
Devers, 3B | 6 | .260 | .308 |
Nunez, 2B | 3 | .229 | .260 |
Bradley Jr, CF | 2 | .178 | .264 |
Leon, C | 1 | .154 | .214 |
Yankees Lineup | Home Runs | Batting Average | On-Base Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
Hicks, CF | 2 | .240 | .352 |
Judge, RF | 8 | .296 | .422 |
Gregorius, SS | 10 | .311 | .399 |
Stanton, LF | 7 | .227 | .313 |
Sanchez, C | 9 | .198 | .279 |
Austin, DH | 5 | .254 | .329 |
Andujar, 3B | 3 | .274 | .291 |
Torres, 2B | 2 | .327 | .357 |
Walker, 1B | 0 | .189 | .282 |
Who's hot, who's not
Mookie Betts has the hottest bat in the Majors right now, but his presence is still in doubt after he left early on Sunday. The signs are that he'll be back in the lineup, we don't know for sure. Without him the Red Sox lineup will look very different, with Andrew Benintendi having to play despite his ice cold bat.
JD Martinez has been a strong of late, with four homers and a .412 average in the last two weeks. Mitch Moreland has also had a strong past two weeks, with three homers and a .345 average. The problems come at the bottom of the lineup where Rafael Devers and Eduardo Nunez have both been struggling.
Gary Sanchez has been mashing of late, with six homers in the last 15 days, but he only has four other hits for a.213 average. Meanwhile, Giancarlo Stanton is starting to turn his season around, hitting .275 with three homers in the last two weeks while Didi Gregorius has been close to an MVP candidate so far this season.
Prediction
It is hard to see past a Yankees win here, especially if Betts is not playing. Severino is playing too well right now to allow enough baserunners for the Sox to keep up with what Pomeranz is going to give up to the Yankees bats. New York by 3+ runs is my prediction.
Channel info
The game will be broadcast live on NESN and YES, as well as streamed live on MLB.tv for out of market subscribers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm ET.
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